The Milwaukee River Basin Like You’ve Never Seen It

We were so impressed by the field trips our member land trusts offered at the Land Trust Alliance’s Rally that we’re giving you a glimpse of the action.  Last week we featured some gorgeous shots of the Ice Age Trail in the Northern Kettle Moraine State Forest near Parnell Tower and today it’s a trip along the Milwaukee River with the River Revitalization Foundation.  Join the lucky Rally participants and see what this organization has done for the Milwaukee’s riverfront!

The Milwaukee river basin was a bit windy but the weather was excellent, crisp and sunny.

During the 2+ hour hike, we worked our way through a 2.5 mile loop from the east to the west bank, including stops at the Urban Ecology Center and Riverside Park.

From this magnificent location, hikers walked back along the estuary to Milwaukee’s Ale House on the river for a beer and some cheer.

These photos are part of a three-part series.  Check back next week to see our final set of highlights from Rally in Wisconsin.

Our Hats Off to You, Conor!

We offer our thanks and tip our hats to Conor Moran, who is celebrating his last day with us.  Whether it’s his smart attention to the details of his work, his long-thinking office pranks, his Photoshop skills, his ability to take on any and all obscure tasks, or his magnetic personality, we’ve enjoyed our time together and thank him for his service to Gathering Waters and to the Wisconsin land trust community.

Conor first came to us in 2004 as an intern, eager to gain non-profit experience while working toward his law degree.  It was clear early on that Conor wasn’t the type of intern that simply took direction and completed a task – yes, he did that – but he also brought his own insights and ideas to the job and worked to improve our systems and expand our capacity in the three years he was with us.  We were lucky to have him then and even luckier when he returned in 2010.

Conor will be consulting with Gathering Waters and the land trust community in the future and we’re excited to have the opportunity to continue to work together.  Our warmest thanks and best wishes to you, Conor!

The Northern Kettles in All Their Fall Glory

Attending the Land Trust Alliance’s Rally gives us a few key reminders about our work.  That we are here to uphold perpetual land conservation, that we have lots to learn from each other, and that our landscapes are stunning and worth protecting for our grandchildren’s grandchildren.  If you were lucky enough to join in on a field trip with Kevin Thusius of the Ice Age Trail Alliance, you got to witness this scenery.

These photos are part of a three-part series.  Check back to see more of highlights from Rally in Wisconsin in the coming weeks.

Rally Training – It’s the Real Deal

We’re home and recovered from a long weekend of intensive seminars, workshops, field trips, and receptions at Rally, the Land Trust Alliance’s annual training event.  This year, we were proud to host the thousands of participants in our great state and enjoyed the opportunity to learn from land protection experts from around the country.

We got the latest information from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, participated in conversations that will help us take climate change into account with our work, were joined by several top attorneys and land trust leaders to ask ourselves, “are we doing the right thing” with perpetual conservation easements, and convened our Wisconsin land trust council to discuss future programming for our community.

We were especially excited to celebrate our Land Trust Excellence & Advancement Program with a reception sponsored by our board member Art Harrington and Godfrey & Kahn.  We are nearly one year in to this signature partnership program with the Land Trust Alliance and are proud that it was highlighted at Rally this year.

Rally is always a unique opportunity to learn from those around us.  The workshop sessions were incredibly useful as were the conversations in the hallway.  The energy was palpable in the conference center and though we left exhausted, we left filled with a sense of elation for what we do.

Next year’s Rally is in Salt Lake City on September 29-October 2.  See you next time in the mountains!

Telling Our Stories

Saving land is a critical tool for conservation that often carries high price tags and emotional connections with it.  We live to tell these unique and engaging stories and applaud the land trusts that do this so well.  We’ve noticed recently that Wisconsin land trusts are telling their stories in many different venues.  We’re so impressed!

Glacial Lakes Conservancy is the local non-profit land trust for Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Kewaunee, Calumet and Fond du Lac Counties – a big territory spearheaded by one very dedicated executive director.  For Glacial Lakes, online communications tools are essential for success.

Glacial Lakes Conservancy’s new website offers the land trust an opportunity to make their stories front and center.  “GLC’s refreshed website features our Grasshopper Hill Preserve project as well as our partnership in the the Lake Michigan Shorelands Alliance as one of the land trusts of the Lake Michigan Basin,” notes the Conservancy’s executive director, Vickie Hall.  She adds, “This project is exciting for us because it represents GLC’s first campaign to purchase, own and manage land.”

The Ozaukee Washington Land Trust has also recently invested in its events calendar to engage its donors and supporters in their fun and challenging work on-the-ground.  We have also eagerly followed the Facebook news from Ice Age Trail Alliance, Bayfield Regional Conservancy, Northeast Wisconsin Land Trust, Tall Pines Conservancy, and River Revitalization Foundation, among many others.  Mississippi Valley Conservancy has created its own YouTube channel where it posts videos about its work protecting the blufflands, prairies, wetlands, and streams in southwestern Wisconsin.

Stay connected with the excellent work being done by Wisconsin’s land trusts by checking in on these great outreach efforts!

We’re Packing Our Bags for Rally 2011!

At last count over 25 Wisconsin land trusts have registered for Rally in October.  We’re really excited that so many of our member land trusts are seizing this excellent opportunity to learn from each other and the national faculty that make it all possible.

As we announced on this blog last week, Gathering Waters Conservancy was able to offer eight Rally scholarships this year.   We’re pleased to report that we’ve added to this number through our Land Trust Excellence & Advancement Program partnership with the Land Trust Alliance.  The following groups received an Alliance scholarship:

• Bayfield Regional Land Conservancy
• Kettle Moraine Land Trust
• Milwaukee River Greenway Coalition
• Milwaukee Urban Gardens
• North Avenue Marketplace BID 32
• Northeast Wisconsin Land Trust
• North Central Conservancy Trust
• Ozaukee Washington Land Trust
• River Revitalization Foundation

All told, at least 17 Wisconsin land trusts are receiving some well-deserved assistance with Rally costs. Thanks go to the generous donors who make LEAP possible.

We can’t wait to see each of these Wisconsin land trusts and more at Rally in Milwaukee on October 13-16.  You’ll have endless opportunities to learn in workshops, get outside together, share with colleagues, and hear some pretty spectacular plenary speakers including Milwaukee’s own Will Allen while we’re there.

If you haven’t already, here’s your chance to register.

We promise you’ll get your money’s worth and feel reminded of why we love our important work.

All In An Excellent Day’s Work

On July 28th we packed the GWC staffers into a minivan and headed up to the West Bend area to do some field work on one of Ozaukee-Washington Land Trust’s fee-title properties.  We feel lucky to work with and for land trusts, whether it’s in our offices finding solutions to administrative and strategic issues or by pulling thistles and burdock in former pastures.  To us it represents another way people can help land trusts do their work better.

On this particular steamy Friday we all benefited from the experience; the land trust gained a few more volunteers and we spent a terrific day amongst friends getting our hands dirty.  We see as much value in protecting land as in stewarding it.  To be able to participate in this work is an honor and also fun.

OWLT has a full calendar of volunteer activities and events all summer long.  They’re also our pick for Land Trust of the Year and will be coming down to Madison on September 29^th to celebrate with us.  One way or another, we encourage you to join us in celebrating this organization’s great work protecting the places that make Wisconsin special in Ozaukee and Washington Counties.

Explore New Places this Weekend

The warm weather is here and it’s time to get outdoors!  We’ve compiled a collection of events happening all summer and fall on land trust-protected properties and you’re invited to attend.  We call it our Parade of Preserves and we hope you’ll join us!

Land trusts work hard to protect our state’s special places.  They also host field trips, tours, work days, and educational events for everyone who loves Wisconsin. There’s something afoot almost every day in the coming months.  Next weekend alone you can help the Ice Age Trail Alliance build trail, take a Door County lighthouse walk with the Ridges Sanctuary, or picnic on the prairie with Caledonia Conservancy.

Join us in celebrating the places that make Wisconsin special.  And, check back in.  We’re constantly updating our list of land trust excursions and events, just for you.

We’re Awarding Six Wisconsin Land Trusts with Capacity-Building Grants

Beyond the universal services, these six land trusts will receive customized services in the coming year including a guided organizational assessment, implementation plan, individualized mentoring and coaching, and a discretionary grant for use on a major project such as preparation for national land trust accreditation status.

The six land trusts receiving grants include:

• Green Lake Conservancy Foundation
• Ice Age Trail Alliance
• Kettle Moraine Land Trust
• Natural Heritage Land Trust
• Northwoods Land Trust
• Ozaukee Washington Land Trust

For 17 years, we have provided a variety of universal services to land trusts.  LEAP builds on and enhances this tradition of quality support to land trusts.  In fact, next Thursday all land trust staff and board members are invited to attend a Webinar on board member evaluations, and an in-person workshop on Tax Benefits for land trust work will be held on June 21^st in Madison.  We will be unveiling more of our universal services through LEAP in the next year.

Our next round of customized services applications will be announced later this fall and we’ll continuously update and refine our universal services to land trusts.

We are thankful to the following organizations for their support of LEAP: The C.S. Mott Foundation, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation , The Forest County Potawatomi Foundation, The McKnight Foundation, The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and Wisconsin Energy Foundation.

Three WI Land Trusts in the Running for National Honor

We’re pleased to announce that Mississippi Valley Conservancy, Bayfield Regional Conservancy, and Caledonia Conservancy have submitted applications to the Land Trust Accreditation Commission.  Our hats are off to you!

See a video we made about the process and hear testimonials from these land trust leaders.

This status demonstrates proof that a land trust is operating beyond reproach in a series of operational and programmatic standards and practices. Independent accreditation provides the assurance of quality and permanence of land conservation the public is looking for and publicly recognizes a land trust’s ability to protect important natural places and working lands forever.

The invitation to apply comes after many months, often years, of work revising policy, updating records, and fund-raising to ensure perpetual agreements are upheld.

There is currently only one accredited land trust in WI, Kinnickinnic River Land Trust, so these three applicants are significant!  Each of these organizations has had connections with and received services from GWC and the Land Trust Alliance as recently as this year.  As we look ahead to meeting our goals for the Land Trust Excellence and Advancement Program (LEAP), we’re proud to share with you these accomplishments that align so squarely with our commitment to land trust excellence.

More information on the Land Trust Accreditation Commission can be found here.